What's For Dinner

Archive for the ‘Beef’ Category

Kate and her hubby made this and the whole family loved it. She says it’s super easy but that you may want to make the filling the night before if you were doing it for a weeknight. Also, they used cranberries, rather than raisins. It’s from Fine Cooking magazine.

Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat the oven to 425°F. Line a heavy-duty rimmed baking sheet with foil.

Slice the sweet potatoes in half lengthwise and set them cut side down on the baking sheet. Roast until very tender, about 30 minutes

When cool enough to handle, scoop the flesh into a medium mixing bowl. Add the milk, cheese, butter, 1 tsp. salt, and 1/2 tsp. pepper and beat with an electric hand mixer on low speed until smooth and creamy, about 1 minute. Set aside.

Prepare the Filling

Heat the oil in a 12-inch sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add the celery, carrot, onion, and 1 tsp. salt. Reduce the heat to medium and cook, stirring frequently, until the vegetables are soft, fragrant, and starting to turn golden, 10 to 15 minutes. Add the garlic, cumin, oregano, chile powder, and cinnamon and cook for 30 seconds. Add the beef, season with 2 tsp. salt, and cook until no longer pink, about 5 minutes. Tilt the pan and spoon off all but about 1 Tbs. of the fat; return the pan to the heat.

Pour the tomatoes and their juice into a small bowl and crush them with your hands or a fork. Add the tomatoes to the meat and cook, uncovered, until thick, 10 to 12 minutes. Add the olives and raisins and cook for another minute; season to taste with salt.

Assemble and bake the pie

Heat oven to 375 F. Transfer the beef mixture to a 9×9-inch baking dish. Spread the sweet potatoes over the top in an even layer. Bake until bubbling around edges, about 30 minutes. Switch the oven to a high-broil setting and position the rack about 6 inches from the broiler element. Broil the pie until the sweet potatoes are a bit browned, 2 to 4 minutes.

This recipe is genius. I had dinner made in about 15 minutes and it was a big hit. Neva ate hers with tortilla chips because they are a good hand size, Addie had hers in soft tortillas because she likes to roll them and we had them in taco shells. It made a lot, but it tastes great the next day on some toast or in a sandwich. (oh yea – I got it from the Canadian Living website, since Pauline is always raving about them).

Preparation:
In large nonstick skillet, cook beef over medium-high heat, breaking up with spoon, for about 5 minutes or until no longer pink. With slotted spoon, transfer to bowl; drain off fat in skillet.

Add onion, chili powder and oregano to skillet; cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes or until softened. Add beef, beans and salsa; simmer for 5 minutes. Divide among taco shells. Top with lettuce, tomatoes and cheese.

Heat oil in a large deep skillet. Add garlic, ginger and hot pepper flakes. Cook gently until fragrant, but do not brown. Add tomatoes, soy sauce, vinegar and sugar. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and cook gently for 5 minutes.

Gently add meatballs to the sauce. Cover pan and cook on medium-low heat, about 20-30 minutes stirring occasionally to prevent sticking. (I usually cook them for 30 and spoon the sauce over top as they are cooking).

Serve on spaghetti (or any other type of pasta) or we like them basmati rice for a change. Sprinkle with parmesean cheese.

Directions:
With a sharp paring knife, cut 4 slits in beef roast; stuffslits with half the garlic.
Generously season beef with 1 1/2 teaspoons salt and 1 teaspoon pepper.
In a large skillet, heat oil over high heat, swirling to coat bottom of pan.
Cook beef until browned on all sides, about 5 minutes.